Knife-switch.



H. F.10HANlNGMYEH. KNIFE SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2l, ISHS-I Patented Aug. 7*, 1917..

T sTATEs PATENT oFFICE- HARRY JOHANINGMYER, OF S'l. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 FRANK ADAMl ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS,MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F `MISSO`URI l i KNIFE-swrrcrr.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY F. JOHANING- MYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Knife-Switches, `of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same. s

- This invention relates to Vknife switches, and particularly to the means used in such structures for pivotally connecting the blade to the hinge standard of the switch.

When an ordinary bolt andnutare used for connecting the blade of a knife switch to the hinge standard, a great deal of care on the part of the workman is required in adjusting the nut on the bolt, so thatrthe blade will have the proper frictional contact with the hinge standard and stillbe Vable to swing freely. An ordinary nut and bolt also necessitates the use of a lock nut or jam nut to prevent the clamping nut on the bolt from working loose. And still another objectionable feature of such a structure is that it is .not symmetrical, the head of the bolt which is positioned on one side of the standard presenting a different a-ppearance than the clamping nut orv the clamping nut land jam nutV positionedVV on the other'side ofthe standard on the eX- posed end portion ofthebolt.

The main object of my invention is ,toy

provide a knife switch which is so constructed that the blade and hinge standard can be assembled properly without accuratelyadjusting the clamping means thatV joins said parts together, thus enabling the switch to be'manufactured at a low cost, on account of the saving in time and the fact that low-priced labor 'or a nut-tightening machine can be used in the assembling oper-V ation. y

Another object is to provide a knife switch in which the means that connects the blade to the hinge standard is symmetrical and presents the same appearance on both sides of the hinge standard.

A nd still another object is to provide a blade mounting` for knife switches which makes it commercially possible to produce knife switches that are uniform so far as the mounting of the blade is concerned.

Y Figure 1 of the drawings is a side eleva- Y Specification of Letters Patent.

ytional view of a knife switch constructed in accordance with my invention.

Patented AugJ, 1917. v Applicationiled April 21, 1916. Serial No. 92,709. I

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectlonal view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a slight modificaf tion of my' invention; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view ofy the means v f used in the switch shownv in Fig. 1` for connecting the blade to the hinge standard of the switch. i

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, which illustrate onev form of my invention,lA `designates the blade of la knife switch, :and B designates the hinge standard to which said blade is pivotally connected,

the standardB herein shown consisting ofa bifurcated member whose two `side parts or legs 1 embrace the blade A, as shown in A Fig. 2. Said blade and standard are pivotally connected together by .means of adevice that comprises a cylindrical-shaped body portion provided at' its opposite ends with heads or cap pieces 2 vthat lap over spring washers 3 4which bearagainst the f l opposite side faces of the hinge standard B.

The cylindrical-shaped body portion of said device passes through alined holes in the blade A and in the two side pieces l of they standard that embrace said blade, and in the form of my invention shown in Fig.. 2, `said body portion is composed of ytwo sections m andy that are detachably'connected together, the head or cap pieces 2 at one,

end of the device being integrally connected to the section and the head or cap pieces 2 atsthe other end ofthe device being integrally` connected to the section y. The secdevice is provided lwith an internally screwthreaded socket 4, as shown in Fig. 2, fand the section y of Vsaid body portion isl provided with an externally screw-threaded eX- c tension or reduced portion 5 that is screwed `tion m of the body portion of the connectingy Y length of the body portion of the device willalways be the same when the two sections constituting said body portion are screwed tightly together. In other words, the space between the two heads or cap pieces 2 of the device that lapv over the spring washers 3 is Xed, and therefore, in assembling the standard and blade ofthe switch all that the workman has to do is to screw the section 1/ into the section ai until the cooperating shoulders of the meeting struction above described, as itis not necessary to adjust the connecting device accurately in tightening same, and as the two sections m and 1/ of the body portion of the connecting device can be set up tightly or screwedtightly together, there is little liability ofV their working loose, thus overcoming the necessity of using a locking device, as is necessary when an ordinary bolt and nut arefu'sed to connect the blade of a knife switchv to the hinge standard. In addition to thedesirable features above. pointed out,

a knife switch of the construction above de- I blade, a bifurcated standard that stradd'les scribedv presents a neat' and ornamental appearance, as the exposed portions of the connecting device that are arranged on opposite sides of the hinge standard are symmetrical.

` It is immaterial, so far as my broad. idea is concerned, how the body portion of the connecting device is formed, so long as it is of such design that the connecting device can be arranged in operative position without carefully adjusting same so as to cause the bladeto have the proper frictional engagement with the standard and still be capable of swinging easily. In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a slight modification of my invention in which the body portion of the device is composed of three sections, two end sections m and y and an intermediate sectiony s that is detachably connected to said end sections and which is provided at its opposite ends with shoulders or bearing surfaces that abut tightly against coperating shoulders or bearing surfaces at the inner ends of the end sections x and y when said end sections are screwed into the intermediate section s, said intermediate section being preferably in the form of a sleeve having internal screw threads that receive externally screw-threaded projections 6 on said end sections and y. The connecting device illustrated in Fig. 3 is particularly designed for use in a switch provided with a plurality of blades A", andr one desirable feature ofv same is that it can be modified easily to; adapt. it. to switches having different numbers of blades by simply substituting an intermediate section e ofv the proper length.

Having. thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

l. In a. knife switch, the combination of a blade, a hinge standard, andj a connecting device passing through Vsaid parts for pivotally connecting them togetherv and comprising separable clamping elements connected together by coperating screw threads and provided with portions' that butt tightly against each oth'erand thus held,l said clamping elements spaced apart a definite distance during the operation of assembling the structure'.

2. In a knife switch', the combination of a said blade, a pivotal connectingv device passing throughsaid elements and provided with Cap pieces or heads arranged. at the opposite ends of same and a separable body portion HARRY F; JOHANINCTMYER- Witnesses:

VnLLs- L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

Copies of this patent maybe', obtained for.' 've cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, 13.6.1" 

